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Shady street historic downtown of Guatemala Well, it looks like moi et other expats have been running into "convites" here in Guatemala, which are sort of like very friendly parades with people, acrobats, puppeteers and street performers wearing all sorts of costumes. An old tradition. I don't know--yet--what they're supposed to be doing or why, but they are fun to watch and local people like them a lot. Below a picture of some.
Convite dancersLast night we went to a punk rock concert and the band was Die Toten Hosen, musicians from Germany who've just sold over 22 million copies of their latest CD. I had never before heard of them, but our German friend young Petersen convinced us to go with him. Once there ran into other friends. Turns out the band has a huge following in Latin America and Europe.
The concert had a very mixed crowd, huge crowd of German expats, another crowd of German-Guatemalans, and then another crowd of people from pretty much all over the world. People of all ages too, older crowd, young teen crowd, and anything in between. I will post a YouTube video of one of the songs they played last night, though this isn't from that concert.
Anyhow, we all had a great time. My neck and shoulder blades are still aching, though. Like, a lot. Lots of jumping and head-banging. At my age!
The musicians' message (in an admixture of English, Spanish and German) was anti-racist and pacifist in nature. They also steered us all to the stands selling German weiners slathered in curry sauce. Sorry to skip that, but there were long lines and the City Government had prohibited the sale of beer (a punk-rock concert with no beer? In what world???).
So we all ended at a nice Chinese restaurant afterwards. There was excellent service, good food, we were happy campers.
The knife-sharpening manOne of the bad things of living here is that, although one is less at risk, there is always the fear of being kidnapped or robbed. Hence, one is careful not to display anything that can be construed as wealth, not to use the same ATM all the time, not to take the same route every day, etc. These are simple common-sense behaviors, but many forget to keep to them. I haven't been robbed, but still. Doesn't hurt to be cautious.
One of the good things is that people still come to one's door to deliver everything. I buy fruit from the fruit vendor who comes to my door, same for my freshly milked goats' milk, the shoe-shiner, the car-washer and even the knife-sharpening man (a sweet old man), who in the picture is sharpening my printmaking blades and woodcarving knives. He sharpens scissors and such as well. The man charges around fifty US cents per blade and around US$1 per knife.
At my art school they've taught us how to sharpen our own instruments. Alas, I am lazy, and the knife-sharperner is happy for the work, so all's well that ends well.
Shady street, Historic Downtown of Guatemala
Talking of which, been meeting more and more expats here, from all over the world, mostly from Europe, Canada and the US. To the locals, in general, we're all "gringos." This can have negative or positive connotations, depending upon the case. Most of the anti-American sentiment I have encountered is mainly expressed in trite scrawlings on walls. Yet it is interesting to see how many expats are actually working here and the jobs they have.
I was visiting a private hospital a couple weeks ago and there was a US nurse there! Europeans and Japanese seem to arrive with a job already set, mostly in NGOs or some sort of government exchange position. I love it when Japanese people stay with us because not only are they super nice people, exquisitely polite, but they have the coolest electronics EVER! And I get to practice the few words of Japanese I know.
Shady street, Historic Downtown of GuatemalaTalking of which, been meeting more and more expats here, from all over the world, mostly from Europe, Canada and the US. To the locals, in general, we're all "gringos." This can have negative or positive connotations, depending upon the case. Most of the anti-American sentiment I have encountered is mainly expressed in trite scrawlings on walls. Yet it is interesting to see how many expats are actually working here and the jobs they have.
I was visiting a private hospital a couple weeks ago and there was a US nurse there! Europeans and Japanese seem to arrive with a job already set, mostly in NGOs or some sort of government exchange position. I love it when Japanese people stay with us because not only are they super nice people, exquisitely polite, but they have the coolest electronics EVER! And I get to practice the few words of Japanese I know.
Most Canadian's I have met are teaching English at private high schools or language schools. Some US expats too. Met a couple teaching at local universities (as I will be doing next year) and others have opened pubs or some sort of eatery. If out of funds, they're bartenders. Several are into trade and export, and others manage research labs, call centers, maquilas or hostels. And, of course, those working for NGOs. Israelis tend to work in security and there are thousands of Korean immigrants here.
Globalization at work, I guess. And so it goes. Below, a gazebo built in the 19th century, still standing in a nearby park.
Globalization at work, I guess. And so it goes. Below, a gazebo built in the 19th century, still standing in a nearby park.
Hotel - Lofts - Parking
In the Historic Center of Guatemala
